And that’s why sandless sandbag company FloodSax has a distributor out there so people can stock up on the easy-to-store bags ready for when flooding happens.

Last November, for instance, Saudi authorities closed schools and universities after flooding in the kingdom’s second-largest city, Jeddah, and the country’s Red Sea coastal regions.

And in March last year videos shared on Twitter and other social media sites showed people stranded in tunnels and on roads with cars engulfed by floodwater after severe flash flooding.

Flooding happens almost every year in Jeddah and other western cities in Saudi Arabia.

According to the website www.climatestotravel.com Kuwait has slightly more than 100ml (4 inches) or rain every year from November to April “which can sometimes be so intense and concentrated as to cause flooding.”

* Many homes and businesses worldwide now have a pack of FloodSax sandless sandbags so they are ready for any flooding emergency. They are space-saving to store but can be transformed into sandbags within minutes simply by adding water.